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My Writing Process

I was invited to participate in this wonderful blog hop by Barbara Joe. Check her out on Facebook, and read her blog post on her Web page. Thank you, Barbara for this opportunity. In case you’ve never heard of Barbara, she writes wonderful real-to-life romance books that feature characters that are relateable and flawed, just like you and me. When you get a chance, check out her latest book, First Class Love, on Amazon. So, how this works is, I have to answer four pre-chosen questions and then tag three other authors on Facebook. Ready . . . Set . . . Go!

1. What are you working on?

For the last year or so, I’ve been working on my third novel, titiled, Promise me you won’t. Promise me is a story about Cashmere Masters and Lonnie Parker. Both Lonnie and Cashmere are dealing with the consequences of previous relationships that left them feeling wounded and bitter. Cashmere was diagnosed with a deadly disease that she’s managed to live with for seventeen years, all to the credit of her faith in God’s ability to reward faithfulness. Lonnie, on the other hand, was determined to never let any woman get close enough to him to lay claims on him. When his ex became pregnant, his plans went south. However, she had other plans for the baby. Ten years later, Lonnie is still trying to come to grips with her decision. In addition to that, he’s trying to repare his fractured relationship with his father. Look for this book to be published sometime later this year.

2. How does your writing differ from others of its genre?

I write in the genre Contemporary adult fiction. My writing differs from most in the genre in quite a unique way. I use no profanity and there are no sex scenes. Believe it or not, that is a difficult task to accomplish. I love the challenge because it forces me to dig deep and find creative ways of expressing emotions that are typically shown through the use of profanity. I also do not write sex scenes because 1) they are unnecessary, and 2) my protagonists, like myself, are celibate. I focus mainly on the issues the characters are dealing with. As is typical in real life, my stories don’t always have a happy ending.

3. Why do you write what you do?

I write the stories that I enjoy reading. I also write the stories that I think need to be told. For instance, when I wrote No More Expectations, I did so because at that time (1998-1999) the world’s attention was focused on this new phenomenon of gastric bypass surgery and weight loss. Although the main character did not have the surgery, she did consider that as an option. But she chose to lose the weight another way. And in recent years there seems to be this trend of not labeling relationships. No one dates anymore. Everyone seems to be just “friends.” So I wanted to address the other side of that issue. Suppose two people were just going out, getting to know one another, but one of the parties wasn’t into this progressive way of thinking. What would happen? Well, we find out very quickly in the beginning of the book what the consequence is.

My first, book, Transitions: short stories for a rainy day, deals with the issues of mental illness, sexual promiscuity, self esteem, abortion, homosexuality, family, religion, and rape. All issues that writers tend to shy away from. Really, what’s the point of being a writer if you’re not going to tap into the moral consciousness of your readers and make them think?

4. How does your writing process work?

It works like this: 1) An idea pops into my head 2) Write 3) Research 4) Write 5) Get writer’s block 6) Procrastinate, and 7) Eventually start writing again. Honest to goodness, that’s how it works. 🙂 I used to do an elaborate backstory on my characters before I started writing but that in itself was novel-length, so I stopped doing that in favor of the by-the-seat-of-the-pants technique. That method has its problems too. As of now, I really don’t have one writing process that works better than another. It’s all chaotic. Ordered chaos, that is. I’m open to all suggestions!

Darby West is a storyteller, chef, and an author. She’s written several books. You can find her latest one, “Hello Maribeth”, on Amazon.

Sandra Hall is a multi-talented published author. She writes in several genres and also does book cover design, as well as book trailers. Check out her latest books on Amazon and visit her on Facebook.